News of the Day From Around the World

Chronicle News Services

Published
3:28 pm PDT, Sunday, August 5, 2018

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News of the Day From Around the World

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1NATO troops killed: A suicide bomber struck a joint patrol of NATO and Afghan forces Sunday near a military base outside the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing at least three NATO service members and injuring three others, officials said. All three service members killed were from the Czech Republic, according to the Czech army. NATO said one of the wounded was American and two were Afghan. About 3,550 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001, including more than 2,200 Americans.

2Syria attack: A research director at a military agency linked to Syria’s chemical weapons program has been assassinated, the pro-government al-Watan newspaper reported Sunday. Aziz Esber died in a blast targeting his car Saturday night in Hama province. The newspaper said Israel is suspected of carrying out the attack. Israel is believed to be behind air strikes targeting the agency’s facilities in Masyaf, Hama, last month. In April, the U.S., Britain, and France carried out joint air strikes against the agency’s Damascus facilities in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by government forces near the capital.

3Peace pact: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and rebel opposition leader Riek Machar signed a peace deal Sunday to share power in a transitional government, the latest effort to end a five-year civil war. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir attended the signing ceremony in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Several African leaders also witnessed including the presidents of Uganda, Kenya and Djibouti. The deal says that Kiir will head the government during the transitional period and Machar will return as first vice president. A similar arrangement fell apart in July 2016 when fighting erupted in the capital, Juba, and Machar fled the country. South Sudan’s civil war erupted in December 2013 between supporters of Kiir and his then-deputy Machar. Tens of thousands have died in the war.

4Egypt crackdown: Security forces have killed at least 52 suspected militants in recent days in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula. The military said in a statement Sunday that an additional 49 suspected militants have been arrested. It wasn’t possible to independently confirm the claims as access to the northern Sinai is heavily restricted. Egypt launched a nationwide operation against militants in February. It has struggled to combat a long-running insurgency in the Sinai that gained strength after the military overthrew a divisive Islamist president in 2013.

5Slain reporters: The bodies of three Russian journalists who were killed in Central African Republic have been brought back to Moscow, where they are to undergo a forensic examination, authorities said Sunday. The journalists were ambushed and killed Monday outside the town of Sibut. They were investigating a Russian private security company that was operating in CAR as well as Russian ties to the local mining industry. The project was funded by exiled opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a longtime foe of President Vladimir Putin.

6Guatemala probe: Former President Alvaro Colom has been freed on bail after spending nearly six months in jail under investigation for alleged corruption. Prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval said Saturday that his office plans to appeal the judge’s decision. Colom, 67, was president from 2008 to 2012. He was arrested Feb. 13 along with nine former Cabinet ministers in a case involving possible embezzlement and fraud related to public transportation concessions. He has denied wrongdoing.